Arrows and Thorns
by S.T. Ends
Summary: Prince Tetsuhiro Morinaga dreaded returning to his family after scandal drove him away, but he'd never thought that he would meet his love on the trip home. Even less had he thought of that love being part of a bandit ring holding him for ransom! Rated M for various reasons, characters aren't mine, [insert other copyright info. here].
1. Chapter 1

When I was shaken awake from my light doze, I was overcome by the intense urge to punch whoever had interrupted me and scream to the heavens in fury. Luckily, however, I merely flinched and scowled.

"What?" I groaned.

Hiroto—my ginger-haired escort and best friend of many years—pulled back his slender hands and set them on his lap. "You were starting to rant about how you wanted to murder squirrels after cuddling with them and I got scared."

As absurd as that sounded, I was too drowsy to laugh or scoff. So instead I opted for a slight smile. "You worry too much," I replied. "I was just dreaming."

His blue orbs widened. "Tetsuhiro..._that's_ a dream for you?!"

Now I laughed. Hiroto was as emotional and concerned as ever. Such a welcome occurrence, considering the dreary state of affairs our carriage drove us toward.

It'd been months since I'd been home, my days spent bettering relations with a small territory of ours that had a history of rebellions and terroristic attacks on our kingdom. Luckily I'd been able to reason with the man in charge of the territory; otherwise Metsudan would currently be locked in yet another war with them. Which wouldn't have been that bad, had that little territory provided nearly half of Metsudan's supply of iron ore. Reinorok's people had been quite kind to me. Surprising, considering that they despised the Morinaga family and all to do with us. Upon my arrival they'd provided me with lodgings and food, and only three attempts had been made on my life. A good number, as my father had projected at least ten.

So naturally I'd been saddened the day of Hiroto's and my departure.

Following a party thrown by those I'd made friends with in Reinorok's capital, Tanda, Hiroto and I had settled comfortably into a carriage my father had sent. We'd traveled for about a day and a half already, barely a dent in the week and a half it took to get from Tanda to Maikan, Metsudan's capital city. Homesickness and excitement would plague most, but if it were my choice, I would've remained in Reinorok forever.

I did love my parents and older brother, but I learned quickly the true reason I'd been sent to Reinorok in the first place: they were ashamed of me. For at least five of my twenty-three years I'd expertly hidden my...interest in males from the public, keeping trysts with servants and stablehands as secretive as the origins of man. But my brother had caught me in bed with one of these lovers of mine—though it was in the morning, so he had no proof of any sexual activity (of which there was lots)—and the next morning my father sent Hiroto and me to Reinorok.

"Angel," Hiroto said.

I glanced at him with a smile; he'd called me that since our teenage years. "Hmm?"

"You look saddened. Why?"

He knew full well why. Out of common courtesy I replied, "I don't want to go home."

He sighed and scooted closer to me. "Angel, you'll be fine. They probably don't even care anymore."

I scoffed. "Knowing Kunihiro, he'll still hold this against me when I'm eighty. My parents for longer."

Another sigh. "You're so easily depressed," he mumbled. "Where's your usual optimism?"

"Back in Reinorok," I replied. "Where it'll stay for a long while."

Hiroto's arm wrapped around my shoulders to pull me from the window of the carriage to him. "You know I can't stand to see you so upset!" he exclaimed. "No angel should be this sad!"

A smile crossed my lips, and I hugged back with one arm. Even though he'd offered multiple times, Hiroto and I had never engaged in any sort of relationship. "Calm yourself. It's not that bad."

"Yes, it is!" he replied. "Being shunned and hated for something that you can't control...that's awful! And it's making you sad!"

I opened my mouth to reply, only to be cut off by a pained groan and a thud. Our carriage stopped abruptly, and the two of us separated from our embrace.

"Step outside!" a voice shouted. "Should you resist or run, we won't hesitate to drive arrows into your skulls!"

Hiroto and I shared the same look of concern. My ginger-haired friend swallowed and opened the door to the carriage. We exited the protection we'd had from the wintry forest outside, and my eyes widened as they landed upon the most beautiful creature I'd ever had the pleasure of seeing.


	2. Chapter 2

When the two men stepped out of the carriage, I couldn't be happier.

The ginger wasn't anything special, but the other one...that was our ticket to riches. Metsudan's Prince Tetsuhiro Morinaga, twenty-three years old and recently returning from my homeland of Reinorok after a long stay in the territory. He was more...boyish in appearance than I'd expected. His close-to-black hair stretched to his shoulders—short compared to my waist-long locks—and his hazel eyes radiated innocence. He was less built than I'd thought but still strong. Not a concern, though, considering that there were five of us and he was unarmed.

"Ooh, royalty! Exciting!"

My orange eyes narrowed, and I groaned as my—reluctant—companion and self-proclaimed on his end 'best friend' stepped next to me. A stupid grin played on his stupid face as his stupid eyes stared at Morinaga's equally stupid face.

"Why do you exist?" I grumbled.

"Because if I didn't you'd have killed yourself and everyone around you by now," he replied cheerily. "And because you don't know how to talk to people without wanting to kill yourself and everyone around you."

As irritatingly happy as he said it, he wasn't wrong. While useful for physical backup, the others of the bandit ring I led possessed little to no competence and never did anything properly. It seemed as if all they could do was shoot arrows and threaten those who had entered the forest. Most times I wondered how they'd managed to survive so long in general, let alone with me as their boss.

From the holster on my waist I drew a serrated knife that was supposed to be for hunting. Then again, what we did was hunting. Just...not in the conventional sense. Slipping my fingers through the convenient holes on the hilt, I strode over to the prince and who I assumed as his escort. Over the body of the carriage driver I stepped, my boot dipping in the blood that pooled around the corpse and stained the freshly fallen snow.

"The gods must smile upon us today," I said. I placed the hand without the knife in it on my hip. Instantly two of my men grabbed the prince and his escort from behind. Both stumbled back, and to both to my and the others' amusement his escort looked around frantically. Pure fear and intimidation shone in those blue eyes. However, the prince showed no emotion. Or, at least, none that resembled anything I'd wanted to see. What was going on in his head?

I continued, "Tetsuhiro Morinaga, Prince of Metsudan! Such a fine sight on this equally fine morning!"

The prince merely stared back at me with that emotion I couldn't discern. Was it...sorrow? Intrigue? Ah, no matter. Whatever it was, it wasn't fear nor desperation.

"W-What do you want with us?" his companion stammered. He still had that lost child air about him, and since he'd been restrained he hadn't stopped looking to the left and right. "We don't have anything of value to give! But if you just let us go—" The gloved hand of the bandit restraining him covered his mouth.

I flashed an appreciative smirk at the bandit. Finally, he'd shut up.

"To answer you, what we want is simple." I pointed the tip of the knife at Morinaga. "Him."

His companion's eyes went wide, but Morinaga still didn't show any fear. But he did speak for the first time. "What for?"

I laughed under my breath as I turned around. "What for?" I repeated. Once more I turned, this time stalking up to him and pressing the tip of the knife to his throat. "What do you think we'd want you for?We're keeping you until sufficient funds can be acquired."

"For ransom," Isogai said from behind me. His hand settled upon my shoulder. "Souichi here loves to kidnap people who have done nothing wrong to him until he gets money."

A soft growl escaping my clenched teeth, I glared at him. "I will cut you from face to feet," I spat.

Isogai merely chuckled. "Ah, you wouldn't do that! Not to your best friend!"

"Not now, Taichiro," I snarled.

With a sigh at his surname, Isogai removed his hand from my shoulder and stepped away.

My gaze remained locked on Morinaga's for a few more moments. When it became clear that I couldn't drill any fear into him, I turned away and sheathed my knife. "Restrain the prince. Leave the redhead."

Before I could get far, the prince's voice made me turn once more.

"Wait!" His eyes were pleading but not fearful. Damn him and his lack of appropriate emotions! What the fuck was wrong with him?!

"What do you want?"

"Hiroto's a noble," he said. "He won't be worth as much as me, but if you leave him you're wasting potential profit."

I had to ponder that. Hiroto...the name did ring a bell or six...

"How high is he on the nobility scale?" I asked.

"Son of a duke," Morinaga replied instantly.

Again I pondered his words. He'd definitely be valuable...but gods he was annoying! Was it really worth keeping him if I'd have to put up with his words daily?

"Let him come with," Isogai said. "How often do you get a prince and a duke's son in the same day, Souichi?"

He did have a point...and I could just cut his tongue out if he got too annoying...

"Fine," I acquiesced. "Take them both with us."


	3. Chapter 3

He was so beautiful!

Oh, it was as if the gods had crafted him by hand, taking extensive amounts of time to carve out every individual feature that he possessed! His citrine eyes sparkled in the sunlight blocked by the white clouds. His silvery-blonde hair, tied back in a dark cloth, rested upon his shoulder, flowing down his slender form to his waist. His skin was milky but not gaunt, like a porcelain doll but so much more beautiful. Even the way he carried himself with such confidence and sternness sent shivers down my spine. It'd been all of fifteen minutes, and already I wanted him in bed with me. Hell, I'd only known him for two and I'd wanted to peel off his cloak and dark green tunic. If he looked so lovely now—

"Morinaga!" Souichi's harsh voice spat.

I flinched and looked his way. Anger dispersed from his face but not entirely, morphing his glare into a slight scowl. "Y-Yes?"

"What do you want?"

I blinked a few times. "What do you mean?"

He scoffed. "What do I mean—you've been staring at me for the past ten minutes! What the fuck do you want?!"

_You, my more...lewd side thought._

Aloud I said. "Uh, it's...nothing, I assure you. I'm just...well...daydreaming, I suppose."

"Oh, gods, not another one," he mumbled.

I tilted my head to the side. His tone had changed, and the intense urge to hold him washed over me. "What is it?"

His eyes of melted gold shifted my way. "Nothing, nothing. Just...keep your daydreams as those: dreams."

I nodded slowly. "Alright...I will."

Though our words ceased, our conversation was far from over. At least, on my end. What was his issue with daydreamers? Who didn't like dreaming in the day?

"Souichi—"

I froze as the blade of his knife pressed against my throat. The group of men behind us stopped as well, and I heard Hiroto gasp. "Angel!"

"Quiet," the one called Isogai said. I glanced over my shoulder to see him cover Hiroto's mouth with a gloved hand. "It's rude to interrupt."

My gaze returned to Souichi when Hiroto quieted. "What is it?"

"I don't remember letting you call me by my first name," he growled. "Do you, Morinaga?"

Gulping, I replied, "No..."

He nodded once and turned to the others. "Do any of you remember this?"

A unanimous 'no' rumbled through the crowd. Again I gulped.

"Ah, I see. Just making sure I'm not going deaf." He increased the pressure of the blade on my neck. "You will not call me by my given name. Am I understood?"

I nodded as best I could, considering the knife at my throat. "Th-Then what do I call you?"

This time Isogai piped up. "Call him Senpai!" he called. "That's what everyone calls him!"

Souichi's head whipped to Isogai, and a growl rumbled from his throat. "Taichiro," he snapped.

He sighed and went quiet, but not before mumbling, "Do you have anything better for him to call you?"

At that, Souichi's porcelain cheeks gained a hint of color. My eyes widened, and my heart thrummed in my chest. He looked so...adorable...so innocent and sweet and cute...

A light coat of redness now covered my cheeks, too, and I gasped internally. As far as I could I moved away from him. If he felt it hit him...

Well, then calling him by his first name would be the least of my issues.

* * *

><p><strong>Probably should've done this on the first chapter...ah, well, nobody really cares that much. Anyway, hello, community of fellow yaoi fans. Thanks for reading! The chapters are really short, I know, but I promise they'll get a bit longer once things actually start happening (creepy smile and laughter). Also (I'm sure you've all realized, but in case you haven't) the POV switches from Morinaga to Souichi every chapter or so. Kind of an odd place to put an Author's Note, I know, but if you read this far I'm sure you don't mind. Feel free to review! ~S.T. Ends<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

Though not nearly as extravagant as some places in the world, the little hideout the others and I called home served its purpose well. A fortress before half of it burned down during a battle between Metsudan and Reinorok, our hideout possessed enough rooms for all of us to sleep and live, plus about four extra. The exterior was derelict in appearance; a good thing, considering that we didn't want found by anyone with the power to arrest and/or execute us. Fire had blackened most of the external boards; the protective layer of stone surrounding the fortress crumbled in some places; one of the three towers that connected the walls together had toppled over completely long before we'd inhabited the place.

Prince Dickface and I stopped before the black gate that separated our group from the outside world, and the others behind us followed suit. "Unlock!" I shouted.

Moments later the gate slid open, and I smirked. At least they could do _something_ right. Shoving one hand into the pocket of my black pants, I led the way into the snow-laden courtyard, Morinaga at my side. Once we'd reached the middle of the courtyard, I turned to address the others.

"Lead the prisoner to the standard holding areas," I ordered. "The prince stays with me. Isogai, come to my rooms once you've finished."

That fucking overly-happy smile appeared, but thankfully it didn't stay on me for long. Instead, he turned it to the annoying ginger that Morinaga had probably been fucking in the carriage before we'd gotten to him. A sickening thought, but rumors of his homosexuality were rampant throughout both Metsudan and Reinorok. Which meant shame for the royal family and leverage for us.

"I'll make sure he's well-treated," Isogai promised.

"For once you have a good idea."

With that we parted ways. I grabbed Morinaga's wrist and tugged him from the courtyard to the interior warmth of the fortress. Up the stone steps we went, stopping when we reached a dark wooden door with a metal "S" attached to it. Being the leader of our group, I possessed three rooms—a bedroom, bathroom, and games room—and didn't have to share with others. Up until now, anyway. I didn't trust the others with Morinaga; they'd probably end up starving or killing him within the first day. Imbeciles, all of them.

Morinaga looked around the bedroom with a slight smile on his too-innocent face. "This is very simple...but it's extremely nice! So cozy and warm...I can tell you take pride in where you live."

Now it was my turn to smirk, allowing a bit of smugness to creep onto my lips. While no royal chamber, my bedroom did blow away the competition by far. It used to belong to the captain of the fortress, so it was only natural that I now resided within it. The bed could easily fit two people—not that it ever had—and the room itself was big enough to house a couch, full dining table, and even a fireplace. Considering how fucking cold it got in the winter, the last was a valuable asset to possess.

Kicking off my boots and removing my cloak, I said to Morinaga, "You'll stay in here with me until your ass is traded for ransom from Metsudan."

His smile widened to an almost disturbing size. It was so disturbing, in fact, that I turned away from him to hang up my bow and arrows.

"So...I'm sleeping with you?" he asked.

I tensed, and my cheeks grew hot as the words hit my ears. Had he really just...? "You...!" Balling my fist, I punched Morinaga hard enough to send him to the floor. He just barely caught himself on his elbows, one hand holding his bruising cheek. His hazel eyes gazed up at me, wide and—finally!—shocked.

"S-Senpai, what're you—?"

"Shut up!" I yelled. "You twisted son of a bitch—I'll kill you in your sleep!"

"W-Wait, calm down." He sat up and made a placating gesture with his hands. "What's wrong?"

"You know exactly what's wrong!" Gods, he was twisted _and_ stupid? What had he done to receive such a terrible combination? I grabbed him by the collar of his yellow shirt—pissed me off, it was so yellow—and yanked him up. Our foreheads touched, and my eyes bore thousands upon thousands of holes into his.

"N-No, I don't!" he insisted. "What made you so angry, Senpai?"

"You," I growled. My grip on his shirt white-knuckled. "I don't care if you're royalty or homeless—keep your fucking homosexuality to your goddamn self!"

His eyes widened even further than they had, and bright redness spread across his cheeks. "Y-You...h-how did you...when...?"

"Rumors spread like plagues among the lower class," I replied. I released his collar and threw him back. He stumbled a bit before standing properly. "To answer your question from earlier, _no_. You and I won't be sleeping together. You'll be sleeping there." I pointed to the couch. "I'm taking _my_ bed and sleeping by _myself_. Not with you."

He frowned, but he didn't express his depression verbally. "At least it's not the floor," he mumbled.

I smirked and snickered to myself. "I could have Taichiro occupy the couch, if you'd prefer the floor."

Hastily he shook his head, and even more hastily he said, "N-No, that's fine. I don't mind at all. Sleeping on the couch, I mean. It looks extremely comfortable."

I nodded. "I thought so." I deposited the rest of my belongings on my bed. "Your second duty aside from staying alive is acting as a maid of sorts for me. You'll clean, make food—the standard things a maid would do. Your first task is to put away my things for me."

Again he showed no depression. Hell, this time he smiled at me. "All right, Senpai, I will."

My gaze on him softened a bit out of curiosity. How could one go from confused to embarrassed to happy in a matter of a few minutes? What race was he? Certainly not a human. Or, at least, no human that I'd ever encountered before. Hmm...maybe he belonged to the same race as Isogai...

"You'd be wise not to fuck up," I replied.

"I won't!" Morinaga assured. "I'll make sure not to disappoint you."

Something in my gut told me that there was much more to the prince than I'd initially thought. Maybe this would be interesting after all...

Either that or it'd drive me to the brink of suicide.

* * *

><p><strong>Had fun with this...good news for you, readers: the sexytimes start soon! In about...maybe a chapter or two, but they start soon. Now take a few minutes to rejoice to yourselves.<strong>


	5. Chapter 5

"There," Isogai said with a smile. "All better, Morinaga."

I flashed him a grateful smile. The hit that Souichi—I couldn't bring myself to call him 'Senpai' in my head; not when his name felt and sounded so pretty—had provided me opened up a small cut on my cheek, which Isogai had patched up once he'd arrived. In stark contrast from Souichi, the blonde bandit was extremely friendly and kind. Why Souichi hated him was beyond me, especially since Isogai had seemingly done nothing to harm him. Then again, I had been here all of forty minutes. No one could judge the entire character of a person within forty minutes.

"Thank you, Isogai," I said. "I probably wouldn't have noticed if you hadn't pointed it out."

Calling him 'Taichiro' wouldn't be right; not after we'd known each other for less than an hour. It was a common practice in Metsudan, referring to a person by his or her last name. A form of respect.

"So...where's, um...where's Hiroto?"

"Hiroto..." he drawled. He looked off to the side and tapped his finger against his leg. His eyes lit up. "Ah, right! The ginger!" He shook his head. "I apologize, I tend not to remember names of prisoners. Anyway, he's in the standard prisoner room. Or, rather, he was in there." He winked. "I convinced the guard to let me keep him in my room. Just so he's not totally violated and/or dismembered."

My smile dimmed a bit as the nature of our situation re-entered my mind. "Yes, that would pose an...issue."

Isogai laughed a little and nudged my shoulder, as if we'd been friends for years. "Don't worry too much, Morinaga. He'll be fine. They won't take him back unless he's relatively unharmed. But some of the others in this group are a bit, um...disregarding of those principles."

Nodding slowly, I rose from the bed. Most of my maid work had been completed prior to Isogai's arrival. I still had to fold and put away Souichi's clothing, though, before I could officially say that I'd completed my tasks. For a man with seemingly so much dignity, he was quite messy—a prime example of why I couldn't judge his character in a mere forty minutes. At least it didn't reflect in his outward appearance.

Well, even then he'd be more attractive than each of my past lovers combined into one.

"By the way, Morinaga, I've been meaning to ask: why does the ginger call you Angel?"

I smiled faintly as I folded one of Souichi's shirts. "Ah, that. He's called me that since we were thirteen. His reasoning's that when he met me he thought that I was an angel because I was so kind to everyone." My smile widened. "I suppose that's not entirely untrue, but...comparing me to something like that seems a bit excessive."

I heard a rumple of clothing from behind me. A shrug. "I can see where he gets it. Not only your personality, but also your appearance."

I glanced at him over my shoulder. "What do you mean?"

Another shrug. "Well, look at you. You're fairly innocent-looking, much like angels are depicted as being." He smirked at me.

Glancing away, I resumed folding Souichi's clothes. "I'm, um...not interested, sorry..."

Isogai remained silent for a few moments, and just as I thought he'd remain that way for the rest of our time together, he chuckled. "I apologize for the ambiguity of my words. I'm not interested in you, Morinaga, nor the ginger, nor anyone with a penis."

I blushed a bit. "I-I didn't know. I'm sorry."

"Ah, don't apologize. It's not your fault, Morinaga." He shifted his position, probably to lay on his back atop Souichi's massive bed.

We remained silent for a bit of time. I folded the seemingly endless waves of Souichi's clothing and Isogai, I assumed, dozed lightly. Once I'd completed my task, I shut the drawer to the dresser and returned to the bed to sit next to Isogai. My gaze on the door next to us, I drummed my fingers on my leg. He seemed to know quite a bit about Souichi...hmm...

"I-Isogai?" I asked.

Much to my surprise, he readily turned his head to gaze up at me. "What is it?"

Again hesitation crawled into my chest and made a cozy little home atop my vocal cords. A swallow tore down its house, however, thoroughly evicting it. "Well...what are So—Senpai's interests? Romantically."

Isogai scoffed with a snicker. "Nonexistent," he replied. "I don't know if they ever have been. He claims he's fucked a few whores, but I don't believe he's been in any relationships that involved feelings. Other than pleasure, of course."

I nodded slowly, using all of my effort to keep my heart from bursting. I didn't know why I thought he would be pure; Souichi was about as old as I was, after all. But the thought of him in bed with a woman...it tempted my stomach and tested its ability to hold what I'd eaten earlier. How could a man who looked so adorable _not_ be a virgin?!

"You look surprised," Isogai commented. "Is there a reason for that?"

I shook my head. "No, it's just...I don't know...surprising."

"The fact that he has urges at all amazes me. He always talks about how relationships are a waste of time and only distract from things, yet he's had a few loose ones here and there. None recently, though. I think the last little encounter he had was when he was eighteen. Seven years later, here he is." He tilted his head to the side. "Maybe that's why he's so pissed all the time. He's frustrated."

I nodded slowly. That _could_ contribute to it... "So what are his interests, then, if not other people?"

He shrugged. "Money. Booze. Money and booze."

"What about the arts? Reading, writing...?"

His face grew grim. "Neither. He has interest in neither." He rose from the bed. "Look, if you want to know more about him, you should probably just ask him directly. You may get a broken window and a few cuts, but you'll get a lot more out of him than you will me." He linked his arms behind his head as he walked away. "I'll leave you to ponder how you can open his mouth."

Without much in the way of goodbye, Isogai left the room.

I plopped down on the side of the bed and rested my head in my hands, staring at the floor. No interest in reading and writing...but he carried himself so well...surely someone that composed would have at least _some_ interest in the arts, wouldn't he?

He was harboring some sort of secret; I could feel it.

* * *

><p>A few hours passed, yet Souichi still hadn't returned from wherever he'd went. I'd busied myself with whatever I could, but at this point nervousness crept through my veins. I currently sat on the bedside, tapping my fingers against my leg to bring some sound into the otherwise silent room. Outside the window at the other end of the room, the sun drifted lazily toward the horizon, bathing the sky in an orange light.<p>

"Morinaga!" a slurred voice shouted.

I glanced up to widen my eyes at the sight that awaited me in the doorway. Leaning against the doorway, Souichi gulped what I assumed was wine from a bottle as if he'd been in a desert for the past week. Though it was flushed in an _adorable_ shade of red, I didn't stare at his face. Rather, my eyes were drawn to his unlaced tunic, particularly what it was meant to cover. While not overly muscular, his body was slender and toned. _He twitched and tensed under my touch, a light sheen coating his slender form as I stroked my way down his body..._

Heat filled my cheeks, and I shook my head to rid it of those lewd thoughts. He'd probably stab me eight times before I could touch him once...

But that's what fantasies were for, weren't they?

"Do you want something?" I asked.

Souichi pulled the bottle away from his lips and belched. Following a few coughs, he replied, "I want...a few things..." He slammed the door shut with a glare, mumbling "Fucking door..." before shuffling toward the bed. He half-fell next to me, and as soon as he was stable the bottle returned to his lips. I gazed at him as he drank, more than a little enraptured by the movements of his throat. _If only those lips could be wrapped around another kind of neck...one that was attached to me..._

Again I shook my head. Gods, I was blowing things far out of proportion...

"Why're you sayin' no so much?"

I glanced at the drunken bandit next to me. "W-What do you mean?"

He belched again and wiped his mouth. "Yer shakin' yer head lots...fer why?"

It took me a moment for the question to register. "Oh...uh, well..." My voice trailed off, and I stared at my lap. I _could_ say that I was saying no to my thoughts...

Something cold pressed against my cheek. I looked up to see Souichi's wine bottle an inch from my face. "Want some?"

I was going to reject, but he pressed it against me once more, harder this time. So I took the bottle from his drunken hands and pretended to take a sip.

"Stop bein' a pussy," Souichi grumbled. He placed a hand on the bottle and practically shoved it down my throat. "Drink like a person!"

The bitter liquid surged down my throat without restraint. I coughed and sputtered around the neck of the bottle, and once Souichi pulled it away from my lips, intense hacking ensued. Rather than a dry chuckle, Souichi cackled with an arm thrown over his eyes.

"You _are_ royal!" he half-screamed.

I wiped my mouth. "I'm just not used to having it poured down my mouth by force," I muttered.

He scoffed. "Fuckin' lies, all 'em." He lifted the bottle over his mouth, his tongue outstretched. A few drips of wine landed upon his tongue. He stared disappointedly at the bottle before dropping it on the floor. "Ge' more," he grumbled.

I blinked at him. "More wine? Don't you think you've—?"

"Shu'up!" he interrupted. "Do it."

I opened my mouth to protest, then shut it with a sigh. "Where?"

He gestured to the door. "'s two doors down in a lil' closet. Key's shoved 'n a hole."

With a slow nod I left his bedroom. I followed his drunken directions to a slender door not far from where I'd been moments before. A tiny hole resided next to the closet, and with careful fingers I plucked a key from it. Once the door was unlocked, I was greeted by three shelves at which I stared flatly. Blue bottles occupied the bottom shelf, green in the middle, and brown on the top, but there were labels on none of them. Shrugging, I plucked a brown bottle from the top shelf. He was drunk as hell; I'm sure it wouldn't matter to him what I got.

I locked the closet door and hid the key in the hole. It was a rather smart idea that he had, hiding away his personal stash of alcohol from the others. It probably would've all been gone otherwise.

When I returned to the bedroom, the trip to get the wine was almost in vain.

Shirtless and shoeless, Souichi dozed peacefully on his fur-laden bed. His body was sprawled across it lazily, his silvery blonde hair all askew. My heart thumped in my chest; my member twitched a little in my pants; seemingly of their own volition my legs transported me to the bedside, where I leaned over him. I pressed my forehead against his, and easily my eyes glazed over with lust. He looked so beautiful, even more than he did already.

With gentle fingers I tilted his head to the side, and with painful slowness I inched my lips toward his own...

His eyelids twitched and started to peel back. I recoiled and cleared my throat.

"The fuck...?" Souichi mumbled.

"Y-You're up," I stammered.

He stared at me with glassy eyes, eyes which cleared once recognition seeped into them. "Ah, right...you..." Yawning, Souichi sat up in bed. I moved over to accommodate him. "Gimme 'at," he grumbled, snatching the brown bottle from my hand. Popping off the cork, he tilted the bottle back and sucked down the liquid inside. Mere seconds later, however, he pulled it away and coughed.

"Is something wrong?" I asked.

Once he'd finished coughing, he mumbled, "Tastes like shit." He narrowed his eyes at the bottle, more in confusion than in hatred. "Prolly old as fuck..." Despite his words, he continued drinking it anyway.

I stared at him as he drank. "So...where did your shirt go?"

He pulled the bottle away from his lips and glanced around. "Dunno. 's around somewhere." He placed the bottle between his legs and undid the ribbon keeping his hair tied back. "'t had shit on it, so I threw 't somewhere."

I nodded slowly. "Good reason."

"'s why I did it." When he drained the bottle, he tossed it across the room. As one would expect from a glass bottle, it shattered upon impact. Glass scattered about the corner of the room in pieces large and small. "Clean 'at," he mumbled, turning on his side away from me. "'m tired..."

Before I could protest or question him, soft snores moved in and out of him. With a sigh I rose from the bed and gathered the cleaning supplies I'd used earlier.

Well, at least he hadn't broken it over my head.

* * *

><p><strong>I'M SO SORRY FOR THE WAIT!<strong>

**I know it's been awhile (too long for my preference), but I've had MASSIVE writer's block with this and didn't feel like putting out an inferior product for everyone. Not only that, but I have another thing that I'm working on (it's not a fanfiction but an original work), so that's added to the lack of writing. Hopefully the chapter being longer-ish makes up for it, though. And for the curious ones in the world of readers, don't worry. Sexytimes will ensue next chapter.**

**~S.T. Ends**


	6. Chapter 6

I would have awoken in the morning like a normal person, but the loud thud and surprisingly quiet "Fuck!" that followed were a bit hard to sleep through. So with a groan I forced my eyelids open, and with all of the effort I could gather I kept them open. Rubbing one to occupy myself, I rose a bit on the admittedly comfortable couch, propped up on my elbow. I yawned and glanced over my shoulder at whatever had caused the thud.

To my surprise, it was a whoever.

Curled in a drunken ball beside the bed was Souichi. He grumbled curses under his breath for a few moments, but before he could throw something out a window, peaceful snores escaped his mouth. I stared at him blankly; gods, he was drunk…

No matter how adorable what had just occurred was, I couldn't just leave him like that. Throwing off the fur blanket Souichi had provided me earlier, I rose from the couch and crouched next to him. I took him in my arms—he was surprisingly light—and stood once more.

But I didn't put him down. Instead, I stared at him.

Even if it was just from alcohol, the bandit leader's cheeks were apple-red, and even though he was around my age, he looked so much younger. A soft smile appeared on my otherwise tired face; so cute... I placed him on his bed and lay next to him, my head resting on my arm as my opposite hand stroked his flushed cheek. In my twenty-three years, I'd never met someone with the occupation of bandit that looked so...normal. Ethereal, even. And I'd run into at least five bandits a month since I was allowed to travel in royal caravans with my family. Every bandit that had tried to rob, capture, and/or kill us had been at least twice Souichi's age with double the body mass and five times the facial hair. And yet Hiroto and I had gotten captured by the gentlest one.

Then again, there were only three of us and one had been killed.

But it wasn't as if I minded being captured by this bandit. It had only been a day, yes, but...I felt like I could easily trust Souichi and Isogai. The latter had patched up a cut given to me by the former, after all, and the former had given me a place to stay that wasn't a prison cell.

I shifted my position so my body covered the bandit's, and with little hesitance I pressed my lips to his.

And thus ignited the flames of desire.

My tongue slithered out of its cage and into the one Souichi unknowingly supplied. Accompanied by a sigh, a moan danced its way from my mouth and into his. Tingles massaged my body with gentle hands, focusing mainly to redden my face and harden my member. No longer bound by the principles of decency, the lewd, licentious side of me shrouded the normal one's eyes and bound its appendages to a wall. Within moments I'd shift into a completely different person, one many had known as a master of arousal.

In the fleeting moments of reality that I had, I pulled back and looked around for a long strand of some material that wasn't easily breakable. My glazing-over eyes landed upon a dark strand of cloth that sat amid the weaponry and supplies sprawled about the nightstand. I snatched it quickly. Pressing both of Souichi's wrists together, I wrapped the cloth around them as tightly as I could without cutting off circulation. Once I was sure he couldn't break free if he awoken, I tied another, larger knot around one of the many bars that made up his headboard.

I leaned back on my heels to examine my work.

Now that his arms were up, his toned body was stretched out beneath me, begging, pleading, "Take me...take me now...!"

What kind of hostage would I be if I didn't obey my captor's orders?

Once more I leaned down, this time to pepper my lips across his cheek. Following a brief journey, I reached my destination and burrowed my face in his neck. I nuzzled the area lovingly, tenderly, as I marked his beautiful skin with even more beautiful bites. Ah, those would be beautiful to gaze at in the morning… I licked the minor wounds I'd caused him, then trailed my tongue down his neck and across his chest. I'd wait a bit to play with his nipples; even if they were calling to me…

I pulled my shirt over my head and tossed it to the side. My boxers followed shortly after. Unsurprisingly, my member had gone fully erect, and all desire and want in my body pulsed hard in my heart. Usually I would make sure to take ample time worshiping my partner's body before I went anywhere near his insides. But Souichi was so beautiful...worshiping him could come later. I wanted—no, needed to be inside of him before my member burst. Lust cast a glittery veil over my closed eyes, and images flashed across my eyelids; sweet-scented candles and sweat-covered bodies; cheerful laughs and cries of pleasure; men in the nude and moans in the night…

"What in the fuck are you doing?!"

I jumped with a shriek at the murderous voice. His teeth bared like a wolf and eyes narrowed into fiery slits, Souichi lay fully awake underneath me. His face was flushed like earlier, and his breathing came in pants.

"S-Senpai, I—"

"Answer me, shitbag! Why am I restrained and naked?! And why're you naked?! And why can't I move my body?!"

I stammered out something, but it was nowhere near close to an intelligible response.

"Untie me, you fuckface! Now!"

Barely out of my daze of lust and shock, I did as instructed. As soon as his wrists were free, Souichi lunged for me. I tensed and awaited severe bludgeoning, awaited blood to fly from my mouth and various other areas of my body until nothing remained but a skeleton and a few remnants of skin.

But neither of those things happened. When I opened my eyes and relaxed my body, I found a pitiful but extremely adorable sight before me. Facedown and grumbling to himself, Souichi lay across the mattress, his head lowered over the edge. I couldn't hold back a smile, nor a small laugh.

"Don't fucking move," he growled, lifting his head slowly but threateningly. "I will make you regret your birth…" Shakily he pulled himself up to a crouch, but rather than make me regret my birth, he simply sat there and stared at his fist. "What is this…?"

I stared at him. "S-Senpai—"

He pointed at me. "Where'd you get that bottle?"

I blinked. "What?"

"I asked you to get me more booze earlier, didn't I?"

I nodded slowly.

"Which shelf did you take it from?" When I didn't reply immediately, he snapped, "Answer me!"

I winced. "Uh...the top one…"

His eyes widened, and the redness staining his cheeks grew. "That...the top…" He glared at me. "You son of a bitch—that was the drug shelf!"

"The...the what?"

"The bottles were organized by what they were." He rubbed his eyes, and I could see sweat trickling down the side of his head. "The bottom was beer, the middle was wine, and the top was drugs." His glare intensified. "You slipped me an aphrodisiac. Didn't you?"

"Ah...well…" I rubbed the back of my neck. "I suppose…"

He growled.

"B-But I didn't know!" I protested. "I didn't know it was a drug. None of them were labeled."

He glanced away. "Still...you should've matched the bottle with the one I'd had!"

I simply stared at him. The effects of the drug must have circulated quicker when awake. His body twitched every few moments; half the blood in his body was in his cheeks; sweat glistened atop his porcelain skin. He couldn't fight me. He couldn't harm me. He had no reason to...no ability to…

Like a bear I tackled him onto the bed, and I crashed my lips against his in the most forceful kiss I'd given anyone in a long time. His muffled protests fell on deaf ears. I spread his toned legs apart and pressed my tip to his entrance. I pulled away from his lips and pressed my forehead to his, my lustful eyes gazing deeply into his wide ones.

"You...you're not actually going to do this, are you?" he asked. His tone grew a bit hysterical as I pressed a bit further into him. "Hey, Morinaga! W-What the fuck're you...s-stop! This place...shit goes out of it, not in!"

I continued staring into his lovely eyes.

"I...I can't just forgive you for this! I'll...I'll have you killed if you go further!"

My eyebrows rose a little at that. My rational side almost pulled away, but my seductive side merely smirked. "You'd do it even if I stopped here." I rammed into him in one movement.

Souichi threw his head back and screeched like a banshee. He pinched his eyes shut and gritted his teeth, tiny, helpless sounds bubbling from his throat. I stared down at him with nausea in my eyes. He was in pain. Severe pain. In my lust I'd forgotten that he was a virgin. Not only had I forced myself into him when he wasn't relaxed, I'd forgotten to prepare him. Shit...I'd been doing this for five years, yet I fucked up something so obvious...gods, I was stupid...stupid and reckless…

"Out," Souichi whispered. "Get out! Take it out, it burns!"

I blinked down at him. "Sen—"

"Out, for fuck's sake, out! Get out! Get out!"

I should've. I wanted to. And I did. But just before I could pull out fully, I plunged back inside. I shook my head after that thrust and promised myself that I'd really get out this time. But again, I didn't. No matter how much I steeled my resolve, I could manage to pull out of him. Not fully, anyway. I just kept thrusting and thrusting and thrusting...until finally I burst within him. Souichi's screaming reached octaves I hadn't thought humanly possible, but they ceased when his voice cracked.

Silence filled the room.

I pulled out of him slowly, carefully, so I wouldn't harm him any further. Souichi had his arms crossed over his eyes, but even though I couldn't see it, I knew he was crying. Heavily. Maybe not on the outside, but he bawled like an infant on the inside.

"You're all monsters," he whispered. "All of your cocksuckers are demons...beasts...monsters…" He sniffled. "I hope you die in a fire…!"

I couldn't retort in any way, physically or verbally. So instead I just sat there, stared at the mattress, and prayed to the gods that I'd wake up from this terrible nightmare.

* * *

><p><strong>DRAMATIC SOUND EFFECTS! WHAT SHALL BECOME OF OUR PAIRING?! Nah, but seriously, hello my readers. I'm here to present the moment most if not all of you have probably been awaiting. Might become a lot more distant with posting Chapter 7, as I need to figure out where events go in relation to one another (I know how the story will go event-wise, but I have little ideas of how to align the events). Anyway, as always, I thank you for reading and appreciate any feedback you have to give. ~S.T. Ends<strong>


	7. Chapter 7

Everything hurt.

My eyes hurt from crying; my brain hurt from thinking; my heart hurt from pounding; worst of all, my body hurt from fucking. Or, rather, from being fucked.

I don't know why I trusted him. Or, at least, thought that trusting him could be a possibility in the first place. He was innocent enough earlier yesterday, but a beast laid in wait behind that facade. A dark, ghastly beast that didn't have any form of consideration or care for the feelings or integrity of others. All of them were like that. Those attracted to their own gender always tore through the world as if consequences didn't exist. And they wondered why the rest of society looked down on them with bitterness and spite…

Like a mindless slave I slid on my dark green tunic, my actions numb and without any form of want behind them. It hurt to move. Hell, it hurt to stand. That damn prince...and he'd been such a compliant captive, too…

I wondered briefly if his compliance would return when the noose wrapped around his neck and he hung from the fortress's battlements.

A sharp but tentative succession of knocks sounded on the door. "Tatsumi." It was Isogai.

"What do you want?" I grumbled.

"I'm heading into town."

"Why?"

"A few blades need repaired."

I picked up a comb from the floor of the washroom and dragged it through my hair. "All right. Don't be gone long, though."

"Is something wrong?" he asked. "You sound terrible."

I stared at myself in the mirror once I'd finished combing. I couldn't exactly tell him what had happened… "Nothing's wrong," I muttered. "I'm fine. Just...didn't sleep well last night."

"You got drunk last night, didn't you?"

I glared at the door. "Shut up, Isogai."

He sighed. "Always so guarded. Ah, well. I should be back around noon. Try not to hang anyone while I'm gone." His retreating footsteps alerted me to his leaving.

I smirked faintly at his comment.

After I'd slung my quiver over my shoulder and gripped my bow in my hand, I kicked open the washroom door. Prince Dickface had lain across my bed when I'd dragged myself out of it, and he still did lay there. But he was awake now, and a look of terror marked his features.

"Get up," I ordered.

"S-Senpai, I—"

Before he could continue, I'd already pulled out an arrow and drawn it back to my ear. "Get your ass up," I repeated. When he still tried to stammer out some words, I shouted, "Now!"

With the speed of a crippled snail, Morinaga rose from my bed and lifted his arms where I could see them. He swallowed, and panic was visible across his features. In any other case, I may have felt merciful upon seeing such a fearful look. But a beast lay behind that fearful look.

I lowered my bow and placed my arrow back into its quiver. With a glare holding the intensity of a million blizzards, I stalked over to Morinaga. He may have been a few inches taller than me, but grabbing him by his bluish-black hair and dragging his ass out of the room was as easy as doing the same to a child. Morinaga grunted and stumbled in speech a few times, and I could feel him struggling.

"You move any more and I'll rip out each hair in your head," I snapped.

He ceased after that.

By the time we'd reached the battlements, I'd released his hair, restrained him with cloth, and shoved him onto the snow-covered stone. Morinaga curled in on himself after a few moments, his face twisted in a grimace and his body wracked with shivers. Understandable, though. He was still naked, after all.

"If you try to escape, I'll cut off your dick," I threatened.

I heard a whimper escape Morinaga, and while he did still twist about, he didn't try to rise to his feet or attack me. Rage clouding my eyes, I grabbed a long piece of nearby rope and tied a noose. Usually someone else did this, but I didn't want anyone interfering with my doings. Once I was sure the damn thing wouldn't fall apart—though I wouldn't be completely completely disappointed if the noose snapped and he fell to his death—I looped it around his neck and pulled him to his feet.

"S-Senpai, please," Morinaga begged. "I didn't mean it! I just—"

"You just what?!" I spat. "You just did it to do it?!"

Morinaga's swallow was audible. "I...I never meant to hurt you, Senpai...I just...couldn't resist you when you were in that state!"

I narrowed my eyes at him once we'd stopped. "Couldn't resist," I muttered. "Bullshit. You didn't try to resist. You didn't want to resist. You did what you did intentionally and you fucking know it!" I tightened the noose's hold on his neck. "I told you to keep your thoughts as thoughts, didn't I?" I growled. "Didn't I?!"

"Y-Yes," he replied in a strangled voice.

"Then why didn't you?!"

He stayed silent for a few moments. "I don't...I can't reply…"

I scoffed. "Of course you can't."

"Souichi!" I tilted my head downward. Standing in the courtyard with two bandits around him was Isogai. "What the hell are you doing?!"

I stared down at him. "He attacked me," I responded. "Captive law states that I can harm or kill him if I want."

"How did he attack you?"

I paused, and a slight redness crept onto my cheeks. "He tried to stab me." Not that much of an exaggeration. "So I'm going to hang him."

"And just disregard the ransom money?" Isogai questioned. "Have you forgotten why we're keeping him here in the first place, Souichi?"

"What?"

"If you kill him, we won't get nearly as much ransom money for him. Not only that, we'll have an army of royal guards and soldiers on our asses faster than you can get pissed at them. You're these men's leader, Souichi. Even if you hate all of us, can you really bear the thought of all of them dying? All because of your irrationality?"

My resolve weakened with each word that spewed from his mouth. Very reluctantly, my hand started to release its hold on the rope's fibers. I did hate most everyone in my bandit ring, but...tyrannical as I was, I couldn't bring myself to be responsible for their deaths. Or anyone's death, for that matter.

"Fine," I replied. I untied the noose and threw the rope onto the stone floor. "You can go into town, Isogai. I won't harm him."

"I don't trust you," he replied. "I'll be meeting you in the assembly room in a few minutes. In the meantime, compose yourself. And give the man some clothes. He's turning blue."

I rolled my eyes at his comment. Gripping Morinaga's wrist, I dragged him back inside the fortress.

I supplied Morinaga with undergarments and a cloak that had survived one too many winters before taking him to the assembly room. Back in the fortress's days of being an actual fortress, this room was used for battle planning, evidenced by the maps and markers that we currently kept in a box. In the fortress's days of being a bandit hideout, however, this room was used as a meeting place, whether for strategy or just announcements.

Isogai sat in the chair at the foot of the table, his companions standing on either side of him. I sat opposite Isogai, at the head, and pointed to the nearest wall. "Get over there," I ordered. "And stay over there."

Morinaga sheepishly backed away from the table and leaned against the wall, his eyes downcast.

I turned to Isogai. "What?"

"You're not killing him," he said bluntly.

"I said I wouldn't."

"You say you won't do a lot of things." He pointed to Morinaga. "I don't want him in your room anymore."

"I don't disagree with that." I leaned back in my seat. "So what do you suggest, then? Or, rather, where do you suggest? I think that a bear den would be fitting for him."

Isogai's flat gaze didn't gain any form of shape. "The bears are in hibernation, Souichi, so he wouldn't be torn apart even if he went into one."

"I can dream," I grumbled.

"And you can also listen. I suggest that we do what we usually do with captives. Put them together in a cell. We'll move the prince from your room to his companion's cell. That'd solve two of our problems." I quirked a brow. "The ginger's been wailing and begging that he see Morinaga every minute of every hour. It's been only a day since we captured them, but gods, I think I'll hang myself from the battlements if I have to hear it any longer."

I smirked a little. "All right. We'll move him down there." I rose from my seat. "And we'll keep him down there until the family of noble bastards send for his ass." I strolled toward the door. "Before you go into town, get him to Prissy-Ass's cell. And while you're in town, pick up some cigarettes."

"Want us to start hinting at Morinaga's capture?" one of the bandit companions asked

I stared at him over my shoulder. "Are you new here? We've had him for a day—no, you don't hint at his capture yet! Standard protocol is this: if someone sends for him or tries to find him that you know of, we negotiate with that person while trying to suck them dry. If that doesn't happen within the first month of capture, then you start hinting around at his capture. Dumbass."

I threw open the door to the assembly room. Once I reached it, I unlocked my alcohol closet and grabbed about five bottles of the strongest shit I had. I didn't care if it was only eleven in the morning; I planned on getting as drunk as my body would allow and staying that way for at least five days.

* * *

><p><strong>Soooooooo, I lied. This is so rare for me, writing two chapters in two days. It hasn't happened in about two years. ACCOMPLISHMENT! As said before, I lied, and Chapter 7 is posted. Good news! Since I now know relatively what I'm doing, extremely extreme pauses in posts shouldn't happen too often. And I'll actually sorta outline this story tomorrow, so I'll be able to actually, you know, continue without extreme confusion and frustration and chair-throwing and window-breaking. Stay tuned! ~S.T. Ends<strong>


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